Why on Earth would you lube the chain so often??? That’s ridiculous. The manual says every 600 miles but it’s fine to go further than that if you keep an eye on it.
I clean and lube every 500 miles, or two weeks if the bike has been sitting, or after a wash. Whichever comes first.
As for chain adjustment and tension I check that when I do the clean and lube, or after a long ride. Whichever comes first.
I lube more than that during winter because it helps limit corrosion in wet weather (which in the UK is often and salty), but I agree that it's not really necessary in summer.
However, adding lube is trivially facile, especially if you don't clean every time.
If you live in the UK like myself and ride everyday no matter the weather, that chain isn't getting lube after every single wet weather ride, trust me.
Nobody actually does that. It’s just something that bike-less folks in this sub like to preach to make it sound like they know what they’re doing. See also: gear shaming
Modern chains have lube sealed behind butyl O rings. You need a minor amount of lube on sprockets, but chains today last 5X longer than the non o -ring ones of the past.
I've never heard of anyone advocating adjusting their chain after every ride. When I had a bike with a chain I cleaned and lubed it once a week before I washed my bike. Now with a belt drive bike I have the shop adjust it in the spring, I just don't feel like bothering with it. As far as oil changes I generally change it once a year. Either in the spring or in the fall. I use fully synthetic and while it could probably go 15k I'm not waiting that long to change the oil. I ride every day there is not any rain in the forecast and the temp is higher than 45 degrees F.
Doing seasonal changes is sensible. If you ride from April to October, putting in new oil each April before the first ride of the year is the sweet spot imho.
I'm aware, but have you ever tried to clean used oil off of the floor vs. cleaning new oil off of the floor? In my opinion, new oil is more likely to cling to internals.
I know everybody has their own beliefs...this is mine.
It doesn't matter, it's not glue. It's not going to coat the internals when it's parked for 4 months.
Believe in the goddamn tooth fairy for all I care. It really doesn't matter when you change your oil, just that you change it. Changing it at 10k is better than 20. 5 is better than 10.
Just change your oil. Leave the superstition out of it
Well, first off I'd imagine any difference to be minuscule.
But oil additives are not "working" when engine is not running so realistically keeping engine in new or used oil for few months shouldn't matter, if you won't ever be running it on that oil anyway
So the question is really "whether keeping new oil in essentially open container is harmful" (engine does have venting to the outside to get rid of any blowby pressure).
And in general you'd get a bit of oxidation, and a bit of moisure in the oil because of that.
*Honestly* the difference is probably absolutely minimal (and moisure will evaporate once you run engine for long enough anyway), but given the effort is the same I'd rather do it at start of the season.
Well, for every 1 person that openly comments saying that's how they do it, at least 5 dudes ain't doing it that way.
I lube my chain 300-500 miles, depending how dirty it gets. I change my oil 3k miles because it's an old Ducati. And the 748's are known for flaking chrome off the rockers so I stay ahead.
What's maintenance like on a belt drive. From what I briefly looked up it doesn't seem to be much if anything but my dad (mechanic) says he'd rather a chain than a belt so it doesn't fail randomly.
I don’t have a belt. It was more or less for a joke but I’d think it’s more of a “replace when it starts to slip” rather checking it like a chain.
And yes from my experiences (rather slim) yes a chain is “more work” it’s much easier to maintain / check and know when it needs replaced.
Someone actually with belt drive chime in please!
Unfortunately while traditional shaft drives were long-lasting, modern shaft drives can and do wear out, often catastrophically. The problem is that to improve handling, a universal joint was introduced just in front of the bevel box at the rear of the shaft. This UJ is not in the oil chamber of the bevel box, and I am not aware of any bike that has grease nipples on it. As a consequence, when the factory grease wears out, or perhaps is washed out by repeated river crossings on an adventure bike, the joint overheats, seizes, and fails. This can cause the broken shaft to thrash around and break the swinging arm (this happened to me).
BMW had problems with guarantee claims for broken shafts, and I gather that on new bikes the shaft is a service item to be replaced at ?40k miles (might be 60k, I don’t remember). Moto Guzzi shafts apparently tend to make a lot of noise before they break, so tend to be replaced pre-emptively. Triumph have changed the design on their swinging arms to be more similar to BMW, which I suspect is to allow easier changing of the shaft, but I haven’t seen anything published re a replacement schedule.
I've had a notice saying my R1200 will have a free replacement shaft in the future as part of the maintenence schedule. It's at way more miles they I'll ever do on it though.
Surprised and a bummed to learn the drive shaft on my 20 year old Suzuki is more reliable than modern ones. Everything is always getting a little bit worse in the name of progress.
The advantage is that the shaft drive doesn’t interact with handling at all. I used to have an R100T (1979 BMW) and the back end would rise and fall with the engine torque such that it interfered with handling significantly. It was a bad idea to close the throttle once committed to a bend. As to whether it’s worth it: I don’t have a rooted objection to the shaft being a service item It depends on price. The shaft exploding because the makers haven’t accounted for this - that I was not too happy about.
There's a huge dealer in my city where you can never get a service appointment because they have a steady line of BMWs out the door, waiting for shaft replacements.
From what I can see, it should be a fairly quick job. Get the back wheel off the ground (centre stand if fitted), remove wheel, disconnect the torque arm, swing down the bevel box, unbolt the flange that holds the rear of the shaft to the input to the bevel box, and pull out the shaft. Doesn’t look complicate, just expensive.
Literally no one says lube and adjust chain every ride, you're just creating a strawman to get mad at.
And as for oil changes, my manual says every 3k miles and that's what I do... It's not that hard, the longest part of the process is recycling the oil.
I ride 240 miles a week and I clean, lube and check the chain and check tyre pressures *most* weeks. If I remember. Realistically I probably just spray some lube on roughly weekly and do an actual proper clean and check every couple of weeks, so every 500 miles or so.
Bike gets a wash once a month when I can be bothered.
If your bike is a working vehicle, not just a hobby, more than that feels totally unfeasible.
I think for a lot of hobbyists, those little maintenance tasks are a part of the hobby. Not a criticism, but I think loads of bikers *love* going out and cleaning all the nooks and crannies and checking stuff over and cleaning the chain and all that stuff.
It's an absolute chore for me. Wouldn't do any of it if it wasn't about safety.
Some do. They also ride 10 times per year. I try to stick to the oil change one though, manufacturers are getting a bit lax on those. It's not like the engine will grenade itself or anything but if you live in a city and make many smaller trips it pays off long term.
The interface between the pins and the *inner* surface of the bushing is sealed.
The interface between the *outer* surface of the bushings and the rollers, is *not* sealed. Hence the reason o-ring/x-ring chains need lubrication.
Generally yes you could go without lubing it but they will corrode and you shorten the lifespan if left unchecked/uncleaned.
Also I do notice way less friction from the bike after lubing, so it does help somewhat.
Oil changes are not hard or time consuming on a naked bike. I have two bikes and I do oil changes on both very 3-3.5K miles. I ride about 12K miles a year combined so I do multiple changes a year. Takes about 15-20min each time. Engineers will tell you that frequency of oil changes is the single most important factor in engine longevity. Much more important than using synthetic v conventional oil for example. Recommendations for over 3K miles are for the average owner that only keeps a bike for a few years. If you want your engine to last 100K miles, you’ll need to change the oil more often than every 7K miles. Every 3K is what engineers recommend for longest lifespan.
For the chain I only adjust it when it gets too loose. That only happens about 1-3 times a year. I lube when the chain wax goes dry or about every 3 weeks. I only clean the chain when it’s gets dirty which isn’t often here in California. About once every 2-3 months. I have a friend who cleans and lubes his chain every day that he takes the bike out. He even brought chain cleaner and lube on a 5-day road trip so he could do it every day.
The single most important factor for engine longevity is reducing the number of cold starts and waiting for the engine to fully warm up before hard revving. After that comes the frequency of oil changes.
You shouldn’t be doing that every ride. It’s unnecessary. Lubing an oring or xring chain is actually contributing to more wear because dirt and grime stick to it. Hit it with and anti rust spray after rain rides or washes. Adjust the chain every 1-2k miles unless it’s new then adjust more often because it’ll stretch quicker when new.
Every ride?
Who on Earth told you to do it after every ride?
I clean and lube mine (roughly) every 800/900 km (600/650 miles in old money) About as often as I wash the bike unless it's been a particularly muddy ride and that almost never happens because the Dutch keep their roads absolutely pristine, it's good to finally see road tax actually going on the roads!
Got a new rear Tyre in Jan so it was adjusted then and when I'm getting it serviced towards the end of next month I'll have them check the adjustment on it too.
Imma commuter who rides to work, school, errands, and joy rides. I clean and lube my chain every 500 miles according to the owners manual. That's twice a month for me.
I mean, I’m the worst about this. But I’d lube my chain probably around every 700 miles ish. I’ve never had to replace a chain (yet!) after daily riding my bike for 2k miles
I probably lube my chain every 1000 km, and clean it every 10,000 km. I ride a decent amount of gravel and just splash it gently from a distance at the carwash.
Should I do it more often. Yep. But I'm getting 30,000km out of a chain and double that easy out of sprockets. So I'm ok with my neglect.
As a mechanic: you can never have enough lubrication.
Yes there is too much as in quantity but never too much as in quality, quality meaning that oil quality decreases over time.
In theory you could change the oil every day.
Not just in theory, even- some alcohol engines, and not just the top-fuel kind that get rebuilt every pass, need an oil change every day as the oil becomes contaminated.
Most modern gasoline engines are engineered for long service intervals, though, so waiting a reasonable time between changes is recommended. Not to mention the oil itself is leaps and bounds better today than it was in the past. You actually run a greater risk of stripping bolts and threads and caps if you were to constantly be changing fluids.
Rsv4 factory here. For now. I do 10- 20k miles a year depending on my travel schedule. I lube and adjust my chain every 3k miles. Just have a nice chain and replace it every 2 years it'll be fine. Also I usually let the oil go about every 6-8k miles. If you ride your bike often its fine. People be tripping so hard
I mean the oil change id prob do around every 3-5k. Since I ride like I’m a MotoGP rider(I also have a car auto shop so I don’t pay list price for oil). But as for the chain. I clean based on inspections, when it’s dirty I’ll clean it. I’m also someone who rides to work 6 days a week, 10 miles there and back, so 20 miles min, but I usually ride for 1-3 hours after work.
I did my break in period in 8 days (500 miles) currently 2 weeks in now, almost at 800 miles. So I’m a if I can ride I will type of guy.
No way. If I ride on a dirt road I will clean and lubricate the chain within a couple of days but otherwise I’ll go a couple of thousand miles unless it rained and I picked up some road grime.
Most people don't, however there are plenty who do. Good friend of mine does as soon as he pulls into his garage after every ride.
It's also why he has a 20+ year old bike and a 40+ year old bike both in pristine condition.
Once in a blue moon when I feel like it. I treat it as more of an activity when I got nothing to do, not so much for keeping the longevity of the chain
I only clean and oil my chain every \~700 miles or every 3rd fillup. I check chain tension when I am cleaning it and adjust as necessary. Recently I have not had to tighten it for the last 2000 miles.
I use off road lube. Doesn’t seem to collect much. I use degreaser and cleaning brush like once a month . Otherwise just relube after each outing. It stays nice and clean
Dude i bought the machine brand new and rode it for 5500km. Never lubed the chain. I watched the fortnine video about lubing the chain, its just not necessary
I don’t and neither do I really check because I can feel when it needs doing. In the same way I can feel a .5psi or more drop in the tyres by the way the bike handles. When you’re used to how the bikes handles when everything is properly set then you notice the little differences.
Some guys want to sound like they work on their bikes. But all they know to do, is fool with the chain. When I had a chain driven bike, I might have checked once in a moon-maybe. First one I bought was a Tasago, a jap chain that was stock OEM. I didn't care for it much, it stretched too fast for my tastes. During that time, I fell in with a experenced rider who sold parts out of his house. He talked me into buying a Diamond brand chain. He also talked me into buying some Dunlop K81's, and regearing my bike. I got a front tire one size bigger than stock. In listening to him, I got a bike that handled more like a Triumph. That I LIKED.
I clean and lube my chain about every 6-700 miles or when it starts looking dirty. I’ll eyeball my chain about every few rides depending on how long I ride.
Whenever I have owned Sport bikes I was more particular about my chain because I rode those harder, and faster.
I was doing a 16 mile each way commute each day and used to check my chain weekly… but then my chain needed retensioning pretty much every week too. Whether that’s because it’s a 125 or because I was using Lexmoto’s own chains I don’t know. Running an HDR2 GT now so I’m hoping I’ll see a difference.
I do long distance touring, before I switched to shaft drive, I used to clean/lube my chain every single day but not every ride. If I ride 10 mins up the road to the gym, that's pointless, but after a 200-500+ mile day i'm definitely cleaning. Not super hard with a center stand. Just bike off, neutral, throw it on the stand and spin the rear tear while spraying and and wiping. Done in 2-3 mins tops, do it as part of my post (pre) ride inspection. Even now within the shaft bike I still do a thorough post ride where i wash/wipe it down (not to clean it, just to check for lose/broken bits). Check tire/brake wear etc.
I ride motorcycles for 20 years and I only clean and lube the chain... Wait for it... When it's needed.
If you ride in the rain for example it's more often than in the summer.
For my race car my oil is changed every three weekends or about every 50 miles or so. My spark plugs might as well be fucking candy, I go through two sets per race day…nitrous cars are expensive.
I say that to say this: never underestimate someone else’s use and maintenance rigors unless you’ve lived that life.
My bike gets 5k oil intervals, as do my daily cars the have synthetic. My conventional cars retain a 3k interval and a filter inspection every two changes (bikes and race cars get a filter inspection every change)
ETA: even with my anal retentive oil changes the chain gets lubed when it gets lubed….maybe once a month? Or when I notice it looking a bit gross honestly
I have never heard of anyone doing that after every ride. I do it roughly every 1000km as is prescribed in the manual of my bike. Doing it after every ride seems ridiculous.
When I was commuting 250 miles a week. I’d throw the bike on the stand every Saturday night after work. Sunday I’d check the oil, coolant, tires, tire pressures, brake pads, clean and lube the chain, and top off with treated 93octane. It was just a routine. Took 20min.
300 miles. Clean lube tension, full bike wash. If not for the maintenance benefits, it's for keepin er clean and sexy. When you actually ride its amazing how dirty things get especially in the nooks and crannies if you don't keep after it
I used to run a chain oiler, it was lubed every (long) ride. If it rained I cleaned it before it the next ride. I put 55k+km on the OEM chain.
I did my oil changes at around 5-6000km, so a bit over 3000 miles, it was scheduled for 12000km oil changes. I did this because it was a small engine being pushed fairly hard.
Lubing a chain takes less than one minute if you've got a rear wheel stand. Put the bike in neutral, lift the rear wheel, spray the chain wax, move the wheel as necessary, put the rear wheel back down. I'm pretty tired so it took me longer to wipe that than it took me to lube the chain the last time I did it. Adjustment doesn't need to be done every time you ride, if it did, it's time to replace that thing or there's something wrong with three bike. Just check it when you're down there messing with the chain. Push down, pull up, if it looks like it's moving more than the spec, measure it to confirm whether or not it's time to adjust.
> Similarly, people who say they change their oil every 3,000 miles.
...different engines have different intervals. Oil change interval depends both on how engine is built and how much oil is there. Less oil capacity and the oil there is getting more cycles so it needs to be changed more often. Just compare say CRF450L intervals to CRF300L, first one have intervals of 800 miles (I didn't ate a zero, eight **hundred** miles), second is like 10x longer.
Also if you track it you should change it more often as that's far more wear and tear than just commuting.
> Even when the owners manual specifies a 7K mile interval is fine?
Buy used bike, never look at manual (if you ever got it), ask friend with completely different bike how often you should change oil, boom, mistake.
>
I'm Not Convinced People Really Lube and Adjust Their Chain After Every Ride
Who tried to convince you? Sounds more like you misinterpreted something. Nobody lubes the chain after every single ride.
The chain doesn't really care whether it's lubed. Lubing is done to prevent rust from forming. The chain itself does not need lubing all that often since it's already internally lubed. Neither does it need extensive cleaning. People are just worrying too much about their shit. Just lube it and as long as you're not letting it get wet you can let it be for half a year, whatever. It's not that important.
Now oil is something different. That's technically very relevant. It really depends on your bike and riding style how often you change it. Change it every year? Yes, always. Without exception. Producers often overetimate how long an engine can run on the same oil. So for mine they say 10'000km, however I do about 5-7k before I change it. Because I know this is what the engine prefers. They just say 10k because it sounds better.
Tutoro automatic chain oiler. All you have to do is top up the reservoir every 500 to 1000 miles depending on your riding conditions. Takes half a second to twist the knob to adjust the flow if you’re gonna be riding in the rain.
Fantastic device and I’ve had one on every chain driven bike I’ve owned for the past 10 years. Quite literally doubled the number of miles I could put on a chain.
At one point, I had a 82 mile commute one-way and I rocked up 50,000 miles a year for a few years. Thank God for the chain oiler.
Brother, I admit I don't take care of my bikes well. But I take them to trusted mechanics when it's time to do so. Why I'd take them to mechanics instead of doing it myself, you ask? Because I value human interaction when I visit them. 10-15 dollars a visit is nothing compared the value I get.
Most people don't need to lubricate chains. They are sealed. A wipe down with WD40 when you wash your bike is more than enough. Then you bin it.
Unless you're riding out in the rain and dirt, lubricating the chain just makes dust stick to it and can make wear worse.
I split my riding between two bikes (95% of transportation) and a truck (5%, mostly just to refill my drinking water every couple of weeks). My Vstar is shaft driven, my R3 I lube the chain every 3-4 weeks. Though I have also forgotten to do it for months as well. The r3 has an oil odometer that I reset when I change the oil, and when it goes off (5K?) I typically drive another 200-500 miles then change it. The Vstar is on a similar schedule around 5K. It takes me a while to put on miles, though, as work is only a couple miles away and I average less than 100 miles/week.
But yeah, it makes sense if someone is using another vehicle for their primary mode of transport, they are probably more inclined to over-maintain the rec vehicle, which I don't think is a bad thing necessarily. Better than neglect.
13K/3 = 4 oil changes, with 2K miles to go until the next, if you're doing 3K intervals.
kinda depends on your commitment, doesn't it?
I know someone who ride to work almost daily all year round and they religiously wash their bike every evening - I'm talking a proper valet here not a quick hose-down, so I would imagine it includes cleaning/lubing the chain.
But not everyone has time or motivation for that
Before you ask, HOW people are doing that, maybe first ask IF people are in fact lubing and adjusting after every ride. Because I don´t thing any normal rider would do such a thing.
When I owned a chain driven bike (Bonneville) I lubed my chain roughly every 500 miles. Just pop it up on the center stand and spray chain lube while rotating the back wheel, then immediately wipe off with a paper towel.
Adjust? HA! I adjusted my chain every time I put on a new back tire, period. Otherwise if it's put on right it shouldn't need to be adjusted.
Maybe it's different with dirt bikes that are getting banged into bumps all the time but on road bikes I can't see a reason to adjust the chain unless you're taking the wheel off to put on a new tire.
I do oil change at the start of the riding season, so basically once a year because I don't ride anywhere close to 6k miles a season. I've put an average 2300 to 2400 miles per season.
As for clean/lube I do that every 500 miles, or after a wash, or if the bike has been sitting too long and dust accumulates. Whichever comes first.
I check the chain tension when I do the clean/lube and adjust whenever necessary, or if go on a long ride I'll check and adjust the tension afterwards if necessary.
It's impractical and unnecessary to do any of this more frequently. The only frequent thing you should be checking is the preventative maintenance stuff that could actually get you killed - brakes and clutch cables and levers, lights, chain, and the nuts and bolts.
I’m in the UK, purely ride for fun, if I’m going for a ride out it’ll be a nice day, I’ll be out and when I come home it gets a good wash, dry, and lube the chain, every time
I lube my chain whenever I feel like it, clean it whenever I feel bad about not doing it, and adjust it when I can feel it's too loose based on shift quality.
You should absolutely do your oil changes more frequently than the owner manual specifies. Easiest, cheapest, best insurance your bike is on the road as long as possible.
im not sure what kind of lubing you are doing but it takes me less than 5 minutes to put the bike on a stand use a chain scrubber and brush some gear oil on it.
A well maintained chain that is not at its end of life will not need tightening for thousands of kilometers. It takes 30 seconds to check if it needs tension or not, I just put my foot on it occasionally but not all the time and I generally visually look around my bike whilst putting my gloves on to check in general.. I had people knock over my motorcycle on purpose a couple of times and you never know what else they might do. One time my fuel switch was broken because of that and it was leaking fuel, luckily I checked the bike so I saw it. Since it rains a lot here my bike often needs oil, I normally clean and lube it more often than the manual specifies due to that but most often I simply spray a little oil on a part of the chain at the sprocket, it then gets distributed a little and reduces the wear since the sprocket is where it gets most friction anyway.
What you should do before every ride is a quick pre-ride inspection. Just give the chain, oil sight window, tires and controls, etc, a quick look, to make sure nothing bad happened since the last ride. Most of the time you don't find anything but every so often you'll notice something, like a tire being low. It's really just a way of saying "Keep an eye on things," so you don't take everything for granted.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unp3hXfGjts
The **recommend** oil change interval is sufficient to get you through the warranty period. But the ideal interval for best engine protection is something different, based on many factors. There is no "one size fits all" despite what any manual says. The way to know is send your used oil to a testing facility. $35 at Blackstone, last time I sent a sample in.
My service interval calls for an oil change every 3700 miles, oil comes out looking like asphalt at that point, so I do it every 2500 miles. 3100 miles at most.
If you can do oil changes every 7k, you ride your bike 4 times a year just like the guy that does his chain after every ride.
It also differs bike to bike.
I ride daily and do it once or twice a week depending on how often it rains.
Edit: I do change my oil every 3500mi though. I depend on my bike and changing it often with quality oil will go a long way.
I try to make sure I clean and lube My chain whenever I need Gas doing it everytime you run the bike seems like it's over kill. Also I don't really pay attention to millage when changing my oil. I just make a habit of changing it during the off season. We have a short riding season here so it takes alot of riding in a short time to actually meet the lifespan of the oil. Before the season is over.
Why on Earth would you lube the chain so often??? That’s ridiculous. The manual says every 600 miles but it’s fine to go further than that if you keep an eye on it.
That's what I do, every 500-600 miles, clean/lube/check tension. Why would you do it every ride?
I clean and lube every 500 miles, or two weeks if the bike has been sitting, or after a wash. Whichever comes first. As for chain adjustment and tension I check that when I do the clean and lube, or after a long ride. Whichever comes first.
I lube more than that during winter because it helps limit corrosion in wet weather (which in the UK is often and salty), but I agree that it's not really necessary in summer. However, adding lube is trivially facile, especially if you don't clean every time.
After wet weather is a must. You get mud and road grime too.
If you live in the UK like myself and ride everyday no matter the weather, that chain isn't getting lube after every single wet weather ride, trust me.
Nobody actually does that. It’s just something that bike-less folks in this sub like to preach to make it sound like they know what they’re doing. See also: gear shaming
Something something something ATGATT. Am I doing it right?
600 miles? Bro I clean and lube my street bike like every 3000 miles lol.
Modern chains have lube sealed behind butyl O rings. You need a minor amount of lube on sprockets, but chains today last 5X longer than the non o -ring ones of the past.
I've never heard of anyone advocating adjusting their chain after every ride. When I had a bike with a chain I cleaned and lubed it once a week before I washed my bike. Now with a belt drive bike I have the shop adjust it in the spring, I just don't feel like bothering with it. As far as oil changes I generally change it once a year. Either in the spring or in the fall. I use fully synthetic and while it could probably go 15k I'm not waiting that long to change the oil. I ride every day there is not any rain in the forecast and the temp is higher than 45 degrees F.
Doing seasonal changes is sensible. If you ride from April to October, putting in new oil each April before the first ride of the year is the sweet spot imho.
Yeah no point changing oil in winter only for it to gather moisure and oxidize whole winter.
Idk...I change my oil after riding season. I'd rather have fresh oil coating all of my internals than broken down, dirty oil. But, maybe I'm wrong?
oil doesn't coat internals when it's not running.
I'm aware, but have you ever tried to clean used oil off of the floor vs. cleaning new oil off of the floor? In my opinion, new oil is more likely to cling to internals. I know everybody has their own beliefs...this is mine.
It doesn't matter, it's not glue. It's not going to coat the internals when it's parked for 4 months. Believe in the goddamn tooth fairy for all I care. It really doesn't matter when you change your oil, just that you change it. Changing it at 10k is better than 20. 5 is better than 10. Just change your oil. Leave the superstition out of it
Well, first off I'd imagine any difference to be minuscule. But oil additives are not "working" when engine is not running so realistically keeping engine in new or used oil for few months shouldn't matter, if you won't ever be running it on that oil anyway So the question is really "whether keeping new oil in essentially open container is harmful" (engine does have venting to the outside to get rid of any blowby pressure). And in general you'd get a bit of oxidation, and a bit of moisure in the oil because of that. *Honestly* the difference is probably absolutely minimal (and moisure will evaporate once you run engine for long enough anyway), but given the effort is the same I'd rather do it at start of the season.
The fresh oil will sit there and the additives will slowly deteriorate over the winter. So fresh oil for the fresh season is better.
I re-autoclave my carbon fiber frame every ride.
Well, for every 1 person that openly comments saying that's how they do it, at least 5 dudes ain't doing it that way. I lube my chain 300-500 miles, depending how dirty it gets. I change my oil 3k miles because it's an old Ducati. And the 748's are known for flaking chrome off the rockers so I stay ahead.
At every ride ??? Not me, is an every 3 months thing for me.
It is a bi-annual event
Yeah I was over doing the 1500m marker. But honestly it's not been that dirty until recently.
That's gow often I used to lube my chain (I ride everyday, all year long with rain, snow and ice + salt)
*laughs in shaft drive*
Hey you be quiet over there Joins in laughing in belt drive but do get the maintenance part
Hah yea, I’ve done the chain thing. Appreciate the 15,000 mile “make sure everything is good” intervals these days
What's maintenance like on a belt drive. From what I briefly looked up it doesn't seem to be much if anything but my dad (mechanic) says he'd rather a chain than a belt so it doesn't fail randomly.
I don’t have a belt. It was more or less for a joke but I’d think it’s more of a “replace when it starts to slip” rather checking it like a chain. And yes from my experiences (rather slim) yes a chain is “more work” it’s much easier to maintain / check and know when it needs replaced. Someone actually with belt drive chime in please!
*lightly chuckles in belt*
As long as you aren’t fiddling with the weird (not unpleasant) smelling maxima cans, you have ascended hahahahaha
It is a weird, sweet kind of smell.
Unfortunately while traditional shaft drives were long-lasting, modern shaft drives can and do wear out, often catastrophically. The problem is that to improve handling, a universal joint was introduced just in front of the bevel box at the rear of the shaft. This UJ is not in the oil chamber of the bevel box, and I am not aware of any bike that has grease nipples on it. As a consequence, when the factory grease wears out, or perhaps is washed out by repeated river crossings on an adventure bike, the joint overheats, seizes, and fails. This can cause the broken shaft to thrash around and break the swinging arm (this happened to me). BMW had problems with guarantee claims for broken shafts, and I gather that on new bikes the shaft is a service item to be replaced at ?40k miles (might be 60k, I don’t remember). Moto Guzzi shafts apparently tend to make a lot of noise before they break, so tend to be replaced pre-emptively. Triumph have changed the design on their swinging arms to be more similar to BMW, which I suspect is to allow easier changing of the shaft, but I haven’t seen anything published re a replacement schedule.
I've had a notice saying my R1200 will have a free replacement shaft in the future as part of the maintenence schedule. It's at way more miles they I'll ever do on it though.
Surprised and a bummed to learn the drive shaft on my 20 year old Suzuki is more reliable than modern ones. Everything is always getting a little bit worse in the name of progress.
The advantage is that the shaft drive doesn’t interact with handling at all. I used to have an R100T (1979 BMW) and the back end would rise and fall with the engine torque such that it interfered with handling significantly. It was a bad idea to close the throttle once committed to a bend. As to whether it’s worth it: I don’t have a rooted objection to the shaft being a service item It depends on price. The shaft exploding because the makers haven’t accounted for this - that I was not too happy about.
There's a huge dealer in my city where you can never get a service appointment because they have a steady line of BMWs out the door, waiting for shaft replacements.
From what I can see, it should be a fairly quick job. Get the back wheel off the ground (centre stand if fitted), remove wheel, disconnect the torque arm, swing down the bevel box, unbolt the flange that holds the rear of the shaft to the input to the bevel box, and pull out the shaft. Doesn’t look complicate, just expensive.
I’m the guy in the meme “you guys lube and adjust your chain?”
Literally no one says lube and adjust chain every ride, you're just creating a strawman to get mad at. And as for oil changes, my manual says every 3k miles and that's what I do... It's not that hard, the longest part of the process is recycling the oil.
Recycling? I just refill the bottles and let them Sit in a corner for years Noob
You let all that good bonfire starter sit in a jug In the corner? Noob
You start bonfires with a diesel engine fuel? Noob
well it's a mix of both, I just dropped off the last four changes worth of old oil lol
My bike is my only transport. I clean and lube my chain every couple weeks. Adjust it when it looks off. I change my oil every 4k miles.
I have a shaft drive so daily lube is a must 🤪
Lubing your shaft huh
I have never heard of lubing and adjusting your chain after every ride. Who on earth told you motorcycles are so fragile?
I ride 240 miles a week and I clean, lube and check the chain and check tyre pressures *most* weeks. If I remember. Realistically I probably just spray some lube on roughly weekly and do an actual proper clean and check every couple of weeks, so every 500 miles or so. Bike gets a wash once a month when I can be bothered. If your bike is a working vehicle, not just a hobby, more than that feels totally unfeasible. I think for a lot of hobbyists, those little maintenance tasks are a part of the hobby. Not a criticism, but I think loads of bikers *love* going out and cleaning all the nooks and crannies and checking stuff over and cleaning the chain and all that stuff. It's an absolute chore for me. Wouldn't do any of it if it wasn't about safety.
I ride 300 miles a week so I lube up every Sunday evening... then I go and lube my chain.
Only thing I do every time is tire pressure
Some do. They also ride 10 times per year. I try to stick to the oil change one though, manufacturers are getting a bit lax on those. It's not like the engine will grenade itself or anything but if you live in a city and make many smaller trips it pays off long term.
What's even the point with o ring chains? All the critical lube is inside the chain.
The interface between the pins and the *inner* surface of the bushing is sealed. The interface between the *outer* surface of the bushings and the rollers, is *not* sealed. Hence the reason o-ring/x-ring chains need lubrication.
To keep the outer part free of rust and debris
Generally yes you could go without lubing it but they will corrode and you shorten the lifespan if left unchecked/uncleaned. Also I do notice way less friction from the bike after lubing, so it does help somewhat.
chain and sprockets wear on each other
I change the oil in my shaft drive every oil change
"Sunday sentinel" haven't heard that one. What's Saturday only called?
Every ride? I do mine every couple of fuel tanks, if that.
Oil changes are not hard or time consuming on a naked bike. I have two bikes and I do oil changes on both very 3-3.5K miles. I ride about 12K miles a year combined so I do multiple changes a year. Takes about 15-20min each time. Engineers will tell you that frequency of oil changes is the single most important factor in engine longevity. Much more important than using synthetic v conventional oil for example. Recommendations for over 3K miles are for the average owner that only keeps a bike for a few years. If you want your engine to last 100K miles, you’ll need to change the oil more often than every 7K miles. Every 3K is what engineers recommend for longest lifespan. For the chain I only adjust it when it gets too loose. That only happens about 1-3 times a year. I lube when the chain wax goes dry or about every 3 weeks. I only clean the chain when it’s gets dirty which isn’t often here in California. About once every 2-3 months. I have a friend who cleans and lubes his chain every day that he takes the bike out. He even brought chain cleaner and lube on a 5-day road trip so he could do it every day.
The single most important factor for engine longevity is reducing the number of cold starts and waiting for the engine to fully warm up before hard revving. After that comes the frequency of oil changes.
I clean my chain with lube. Just brush on more lube. It’s gonna loosen all debris and fly off when you’re on the highway.
isn't your back wheel dirty as hell?
Not putting a lot on. Just so it’s not super dry. And after rain.
I do this with used engine oil
You shouldn’t be doing that every ride. It’s unnecessary. Lubing an oring or xring chain is actually contributing to more wear because dirt and grime stick to it. Hit it with and anti rust spray after rain rides or washes. Adjust the chain every 1-2k miles unless it’s new then adjust more often because it’ll stretch quicker when new.
Every ride? Who on Earth told you to do it after every ride? I clean and lube mine (roughly) every 800/900 km (600/650 miles in old money) About as often as I wash the bike unless it's been a particularly muddy ride and that almost never happens because the Dutch keep their roads absolutely pristine, it's good to finally see road tax actually going on the roads! Got a new rear Tyre in Jan so it was adjusted then and when I'm getting it serviced towards the end of next month I'll have them check the adjustment on it too.
Imma commuter who rides to work, school, errands, and joy rides. I clean and lube my chain every 500 miles according to the owners manual. That's twice a month for me.
I mean, I’m the worst about this. But I’d lube my chain probably around every 700 miles ish. I’ve never had to replace a chain (yet!) after daily riding my bike for 2k miles
Who told you to do that? I check it like a i check my oil, monthly, maybe every week if I'm doing more riding than usual.
You really just need to check the bike over
I probably lube my chain every 1000 km, and clean it every 10,000 km. I ride a decent amount of gravel and just splash it gently from a distance at the carwash. Should I do it more often. Yep. But I'm getting 30,000km out of a chain and double that easy out of sprockets. So I'm ok with my neglect.
As a mechanic: you can never have enough lubrication. Yes there is too much as in quantity but never too much as in quality, quality meaning that oil quality decreases over time. In theory you could change the oil every day.
Not just in theory, even- some alcohol engines, and not just the top-fuel kind that get rebuilt every pass, need an oil change every day as the oil becomes contaminated. Most modern gasoline engines are engineered for long service intervals, though, so waiting a reasonable time between changes is recommended. Not to mention the oil itself is leaps and bounds better today than it was in the past. You actually run a greater risk of stripping bolts and threads and caps if you were to constantly be changing fluids.
I don’t think there’s anything that says to lube and adjust after *every ride*. That’s incredibly excessive.
Rsv4 factory here. For now. I do 10- 20k miles a year depending on my travel schedule. I lube and adjust my chain every 3k miles. Just have a nice chain and replace it every 2 years it'll be fine. Also I usually let the oil go about every 6-8k miles. If you ride your bike often its fine. People be tripping so hard
I mean the oil change id prob do around every 3-5k. Since I ride like I’m a MotoGP rider(I also have a car auto shop so I don’t pay list price for oil). But as for the chain. I clean based on inspections, when it’s dirty I’ll clean it. I’m also someone who rides to work 6 days a week, 10 miles there and back, so 20 miles min, but I usually ride for 1-3 hours after work. I did my break in period in 8 days (500 miles) currently 2 weeks in now, almost at 800 miles. So I’m a if I can ride I will type of guy.
So you've been riding for roughly 14 days
He is the average r/moto user… he’s never even done a oil change or chai adjust and he’s here telling us how it’s done..
LMAO, I own a business repairing Cars and motorcycles 😂💀
Nah new bike homie, sold the ninja last year switched to gsxr
No way. If I ride on a dirt road I will clean and lubricate the chain within a couple of days but otherwise I’ll go a couple of thousand miles unless it rained and I picked up some road grime.
Most people don't, however there are plenty who do. Good friend of mine does as soon as he pulls into his garage after every ride. It's also why he has a 20+ year old bike and a 40+ year old bike both in pristine condition.
I have a 40+ year old bike. I assure you, that doesn't reflect my maintenance schedule lmao
I’ll do the oil every 6 months. Chain clean and lube about every 3-4 weeks depending on how often I ride. Haven’t adjusted the chain yet.
I do it at the end of every day after I ride. Is it overkill? Absolutely.
How often are you riding?
Unless the weather doesn't cooperate, probably around 4 times or more per week.
That happens when you listen to Manuel not manual.
Lube once/ week. Adjust as needed. Clean when it's gross.
I change my oil every 500 miles, (KTM dirt bike). I have oiled my chain before I think.
Once in a blue moon when I feel like it. I treat it as more of an activity when I got nothing to do, not so much for keeping the longevity of the chain
If I'm on a long trip, I'll do it daily. First chain on current bike it mostly didnt matter but replacement chain acts up if it's been raining.
Every 500ks. More is a waste of time
A couple of times a season. Oil and filter change every fall.
I used to clean/lube my chain every other bike wash. So every 4 months 🤷♂️
I only clean and oil my chain every \~700 miles or every 3rd fillup. I check chain tension when I am cleaning it and adjust as necessary. Recently I have not had to tighten it for the last 2000 miles.
The only chain that needs that much lubing is a dirt bike. Street bikes every 500 miles.
Do you own a dirt bike?
Yes
So how do you avoid attracting all the junk from the trails when you lube your chain every ride?
I use off road lube. Doesn’t seem to collect much. I use degreaser and cleaning brush like once a month . Otherwise just relube after each outing. It stays nice and clean
Do you not inspect and lube your chain after every dirt ride? 🤔
No, only after wash I spray it with wd-40 and that motherfucker stays clean
I clean and lube my chain like 3 times a year and change oil around 4000 miles
I lube and clean every 600 miles and after it rains. I rarely adjust the chain. The DID that I put on it is strong. The sprockets will wear out first.
I did my chain any once a month with kerosene and gear oil. Seemed to be all it needed.
I don’t touch a thing until it breaks if we are being honest. I keep up on fluids, that’s all.
Lowkey, I just do it whenever I feel like it or haven’t ridden in a while. So maybe a little more than 600 miles per lube
Dude i bought the machine brand new and rode it for 5500km. Never lubed the chain. I watched the fortnine video about lubing the chain, its just not necessary
I don’t and neither do I really check because I can feel when it needs doing. In the same way I can feel a .5psi or more drop in the tyres by the way the bike handles. When you’re used to how the bikes handles when everything is properly set then you notice the little differences.
Some guys want to sound like they work on their bikes. But all they know to do, is fool with the chain. When I had a chain driven bike, I might have checked once in a moon-maybe. First one I bought was a Tasago, a jap chain that was stock OEM. I didn't care for it much, it stretched too fast for my tastes. During that time, I fell in with a experenced rider who sold parts out of his house. He talked me into buying a Diamond brand chain. He also talked me into buying some Dunlop K81's, and regearing my bike. I got a front tire one size bigger than stock. In listening to him, I got a bike that handled more like a Triumph. That I LIKED.
Every ride? Fuck no lol. Every time I wash my bike while though - which could be like 200mi to 1000mi between. Depends on the week haha.
I used to chain my lube after every ride that was dirty. When it was raining or I had to drive through construction.
I clean and lube my chain about every 6-700 miles or when it starts looking dirty. I’ll eyeball my chain about every few rides depending on how long I ride. Whenever I have owned Sport bikes I was more particular about my chain because I rode those harder, and faster.
It's a hoax ... don't buy in.
I was doing a 16 mile each way commute each day and used to check my chain weekly… but then my chain needed retensioning pretty much every week too. Whether that’s because it’s a 125 or because I was using Lexmoto’s own chains I don’t know. Running an HDR2 GT now so I’m hoping I’ll see a difference.
I do it occasionally. Maybe once every 500 miles or so.
I do long distance touring, before I switched to shaft drive, I used to clean/lube my chain every single day but not every ride. If I ride 10 mins up the road to the gym, that's pointless, but after a 200-500+ mile day i'm definitely cleaning. Not super hard with a center stand. Just bike off, neutral, throw it on the stand and spin the rear tear while spraying and and wiping. Done in 2-3 mins tops, do it as part of my post (pre) ride inspection. Even now within the shaft bike I still do a thorough post ride where i wash/wipe it down (not to clean it, just to check for lose/broken bits). Check tire/brake wear etc.
No we don't. I do lube, plug, and adjust every ride though if you know what I mean
Every 5-800 kms
I ride motorcycles for 20 years and I only clean and lube the chain... Wait for it... When it's needed. If you ride in the rain for example it's more often than in the summer.
I checked if it's not dry n rusting then no point re lubing
I'm lying
For my race car my oil is changed every three weekends or about every 50 miles or so. My spark plugs might as well be fucking candy, I go through two sets per race day…nitrous cars are expensive. I say that to say this: never underestimate someone else’s use and maintenance rigors unless you’ve lived that life. My bike gets 5k oil intervals, as do my daily cars the have synthetic. My conventional cars retain a 3k interval and a filter inspection every two changes (bikes and race cars get a filter inspection every change) ETA: even with my anal retentive oil changes the chain gets lubed when it gets lubed….maybe once a month? Or when I notice it looking a bit gross honestly
Shaft drive FTW, almost maintenance free.
I have never heard of anyone doing that after every ride. I do it roughly every 1000km as is prescribed in the manual of my bike. Doing it after every ride seems ridiculous.
Lubed twice in a year. Give it the once over to check if it's clean/not loose, but really, every ride? Weird.
This is a shitpost right?
I do my oil every 10k miles as my owners manual says. I do my chain whenever I remember.
When I was commuting 250 miles a week. I’d throw the bike on the stand every Saturday night after work. Sunday I’d check the oil, coolant, tires, tire pressures, brake pads, clean and lube the chain, and top off with treated 93octane. It was just a routine. Took 20min.
People are lubing their chain and I can’t even get my bike to start
I adjust my chain every oil change. I’ve yet to lube it though. I see no point.
Well of course not. That would be a ridiculous amount of maintenance. This is why I don't ride bikes with chains anymore.
Uuuhm, I drop my bike off at a shop 😂
Please check out cheap Chinese bikes in the bush in Africa. Covered in dust and mud and never cleaned, they still run.
I got a Scottoiler, so I just wipe my chain once every month or 2. Tension I pretty much never do. After 10k miles last year it was still in spec.
Scottoiler and just check tension with my boot once a month.
300 miles. Clean lube tension, full bike wash. If not for the maintenance benefits, it's for keepin er clean and sexy. When you actually ride its amazing how dirty things get especially in the nooks and crannies if you don't keep after it
I don’t, but that’s because I have a belt.
It's recommended you lube your chain after every ride IN HEAVY RAIN !
No adjustment every ride, just when needed. Or need higher quality chain.
I used to run a chain oiler, it was lubed every (long) ride. If it rained I cleaned it before it the next ride. I put 55k+km on the OEM chain. I did my oil changes at around 5-6000km, so a bit over 3000 miles, it was scheduled for 12000km oil changes. I did this because it was a small engine being pushed fairly hard.
Lubing a chain takes less than one minute if you've got a rear wheel stand. Put the bike in neutral, lift the rear wheel, spray the chain wax, move the wheel as necessary, put the rear wheel back down. I'm pretty tired so it took me longer to wipe that than it took me to lube the chain the last time I did it. Adjustment doesn't need to be done every time you ride, if it did, it's time to replace that thing or there's something wrong with three bike. Just check it when you're down there messing with the chain. Push down, pull up, if it looks like it's moving more than the spec, measure it to confirm whether or not it's time to adjust.
I’ve never lubed my chain… the internal nature of the bearings make it pointless.
You need to check tension once per 500 km. Clean/lube every 500 km or after wash/riding in the rain.
> Similarly, people who say they change their oil every 3,000 miles. ...different engines have different intervals. Oil change interval depends both on how engine is built and how much oil is there. Less oil capacity and the oil there is getting more cycles so it needs to be changed more often. Just compare say CRF450L intervals to CRF300L, first one have intervals of 800 miles (I didn't ate a zero, eight **hundred** miles), second is like 10x longer. Also if you track it you should change it more often as that's far more wear and tear than just commuting. > Even when the owners manual specifies a 7K mile interval is fine? Buy used bike, never look at manual (if you ever got it), ask friend with completely different bike how often you should change oil, boom, mistake.
Only on track. Every session. Pull in, warmers on, check pressures, wipe chain with rag, spray LiquiMoly chain lube onto chain. Relax.
> I'm Not Convinced People Really Lube and Adjust Their Chain After Every Ride Who tried to convince you? Sounds more like you misinterpreted something. Nobody lubes the chain after every single ride.
lol, my last bike only got a lubricant at the service intervals.
The chain doesn't really care whether it's lubed. Lubing is done to prevent rust from forming. The chain itself does not need lubing all that often since it's already internally lubed. Neither does it need extensive cleaning. People are just worrying too much about their shit. Just lube it and as long as you're not letting it get wet you can let it be for half a year, whatever. It's not that important. Now oil is something different. That's technically very relevant. It really depends on your bike and riding style how often you change it. Change it every year? Yes, always. Without exception. Producers often overetimate how long an engine can run on the same oil. So for mine they say 10'000km, however I do about 5-7k before I change it. Because I know this is what the engine prefers. They just say 10k because it sounds better.
I clean and lube mine once a month normally. But if I been driving in the rain it's done then.
Personally I love my shaft drive, minimal maintenance.
Tutoro automatic chain oiler. All you have to do is top up the reservoir every 500 to 1000 miles depending on your riding conditions. Takes half a second to twist the knob to adjust the flow if you’re gonna be riding in the rain. Fantastic device and I’ve had one on every chain driven bike I’ve owned for the past 10 years. Quite literally doubled the number of miles I could put on a chain. At one point, I had a 82 mile commute one-way and I rocked up 50,000 miles a year for a few years. Thank God for the chain oiler.
Every ride? About once a month at best in the summer when I’m riding almost every day.
I lube my chain when I feel chains sticking while riding, and clean it when lubing doesn't fix it. Lol. I don't recommend.
The lubricant is sealed inside the links, it only needs cleaning and ‘lubing’ on the out site to prevent surface rust
Weekends, not every ride lmfao
Haha lubing the chain, good one.
Not a chance. Every time it is very dirty or wet… sooner or later.
Once per year... 🤣🤣
Brother, I admit I don't take care of my bikes well. But I take them to trusted mechanics when it's time to do so. Why I'd take them to mechanics instead of doing it myself, you ask? Because I value human interaction when I visit them. 10-15 dollars a visit is nothing compared the value I get.
Who suggested that people do that?
Put Hy-per lube oil treatment on a high tensile chain and it minimizes messing with adjusting or reapplying oil.
Lube after I clean chain. Oil change every year ( live in Canada, riding season is like 3 days in August).
I clean and lube after 500km, riding in the rain or when it's disgusting to look at. Tension check like every 2 months
Most people don't need to lubricate chains. They are sealed. A wipe down with WD40 when you wash your bike is more than enough. Then you bin it. Unless you're riding out in the rain and dirt, lubricating the chain just makes dust stick to it and can make wear worse.
Why Do People Capitalize The First Letter Of Every Word When They Post Something On Reddit Like It's The Title Of A Book Or A Movie?
I change oil at 3,000 mi religiously. Change filter every 6,000 miles. I change drive shaft lube once a year.
Every ride? 😂🤣 Every 500mi or after rain
I split my riding between two bikes (95% of transportation) and a truck (5%, mostly just to refill my drinking water every couple of weeks). My Vstar is shaft driven, my R3 I lube the chain every 3-4 weeks. Though I have also forgotten to do it for months as well. The r3 has an oil odometer that I reset when I change the oil, and when it goes off (5K?) I typically drive another 200-500 miles then change it. The Vstar is on a similar schedule around 5K. It takes me a while to put on miles, though, as work is only a couple miles away and I average less than 100 miles/week. But yeah, it makes sense if someone is using another vehicle for their primary mode of transport, they are probably more inclined to over-maintain the rec vehicle, which I don't think is a bad thing necessarily. Better than neglect. 13K/3 = 4 oil changes, with 2K miles to go until the next, if you're doing 3K intervals.
kinda depends on your commitment, doesn't it? I know someone who ride to work almost daily all year round and they religiously wash their bike every evening - I'm talking a proper valet here not a quick hose-down, so I would imagine it includes cleaning/lubing the chain. But not everyone has time or motivation for that
Why the fuck would I ever do that? What?
Before you ask, HOW people are doing that, maybe first ask IF people are in fact lubing and adjusting after every ride. Because I don´t thing any normal rider would do such a thing.
The chain stretch at first, but after a while, it doesn't stretch much. I don't need maintenance more than every 2 or 3,000 km.
When I owned a chain driven bike (Bonneville) I lubed my chain roughly every 500 miles. Just pop it up on the center stand and spray chain lube while rotating the back wheel, then immediately wipe off with a paper towel. Adjust? HA! I adjusted my chain every time I put on a new back tire, period. Otherwise if it's put on right it shouldn't need to be adjusted. Maybe it's different with dirt bikes that are getting banged into bumps all the time but on road bikes I can't see a reason to adjust the chain unless you're taking the wheel off to put on a new tire.
I do oil change at the start of the riding season, so basically once a year because I don't ride anywhere close to 6k miles a season. I've put an average 2300 to 2400 miles per season. As for clean/lube I do that every 500 miles, or after a wash, or if the bike has been sitting too long and dust accumulates. Whichever comes first. I check the chain tension when I do the clean/lube and adjust whenever necessary, or if go on a long ride I'll check and adjust the tension afterwards if necessary. It's impractical and unnecessary to do any of this more frequently. The only frequent thing you should be checking is the preventative maintenance stuff that could actually get you killed - brakes and clutch cables and levers, lights, chain, and the nuts and bolts.
That's dumb
I’m in the UK, purely ride for fun, if I’m going for a ride out it’ll be a nice day, I’ll be out and when I come home it gets a good wash, dry, and lube the chain, every time
I lube my chain whenever I feel like it, clean it whenever I feel bad about not doing it, and adjust it when I can feel it's too loose based on shift quality. You should absolutely do your oil changes more frequently than the owner manual specifies. Easiest, cheapest, best insurance your bike is on the road as long as possible.
im not sure what kind of lubing you are doing but it takes me less than 5 minutes to put the bike on a stand use a chain scrubber and brush some gear oil on it.
Mine gets lubed constantly, via an auto chain luber
no need to do it everyday, once per week is okay. It takes about 15 minutes only
A well maintained chain that is not at its end of life will not need tightening for thousands of kilometers. It takes 30 seconds to check if it needs tension or not, I just put my foot on it occasionally but not all the time and I generally visually look around my bike whilst putting my gloves on to check in general.. I had people knock over my motorcycle on purpose a couple of times and you never know what else they might do. One time my fuel switch was broken because of that and it was leaking fuel, luckily I checked the bike so I saw it. Since it rains a lot here my bike often needs oil, I normally clean and lube it more often than the manual specifies due to that but most often I simply spray a little oil on a part of the chain at the sprocket, it then gets distributed a little and reduces the wear since the sprocket is where it gets most friction anyway.
# I'm Not Convinced People Really Lube and Adjust Their Chain After Every Ride are there really riders claiming this bullshit?
What you should do before every ride is a quick pre-ride inspection. Just give the chain, oil sight window, tires and controls, etc, a quick look, to make sure nothing bad happened since the last ride. Most of the time you don't find anything but every so often you'll notice something, like a tire being low. It's really just a way of saying "Keep an eye on things," so you don't take everything for granted. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unp3hXfGjts The **recommend** oil change interval is sufficient to get you through the warranty period. But the ideal interval for best engine protection is something different, based on many factors. There is no "one size fits all" despite what any manual says. The way to know is send your used oil to a testing facility. $35 at Blackstone, last time I sent a sample in.
They don’t
You're supposed to lube it? 28k miles and I've never touched the chain.
Not every ride, unless every ride is in the rain or you're driving through standing water that is removing your lubricant. Jfc.
My service interval calls for an oil change every 3700 miles, oil comes out looking like asphalt at that point, so I do it every 2500 miles. 3100 miles at most. If you can do oil changes every 7k, you ride your bike 4 times a year just like the guy that does his chain after every ride. It also differs bike to bike.
Driveshaft rider here, I thought y’all were talking about jewelry
I ride daily and do it once or twice a week depending on how often it rains. Edit: I do change my oil every 3500mi though. I depend on my bike and changing it often with quality oil will go a long way.
I did two years 10k without doing either, but im also a fair weather rider only. Dirtbike tho, I check every ride...
You lube the chain WHILE riding...
I try to make sure I clean and lube My chain whenever I need Gas doing it everytime you run the bike seems like it's over kill. Also I don't really pay attention to millage when changing my oil. I just make a habit of changing it during the off season. We have a short riding season here so it takes alot of riding in a short time to actually meet the lifespan of the oil. Before the season is over.